The mid-range Hilton Sedona has features to please both families and business travelers, including several pools, event services, the enormous spa, and a neighboring golf course. The Hilton is a 20-minute drive from Sedona, but red rock views are still spectacular (from certain rooms) and the atmosphere is more relaxed than in Uptown. You'll have to pay for Wi-Fi, though -- unlike at the nearby Bell Rock Inn.

The upper-middle-range Las Posadas offers 20 spacious, bed-and-breakfast-style suites in a quiet corner of Sedona, seven miles from the busy Uptown area. Guests come for the huge suites with kitchenettes, living rooms, and fireplaces, as well as the homey atmosphere, which extras like the three-course gourmet breakfast, daily appetizers, and cookies (all free) help create. But don't expect much in the way of amenities -- the property lacks a pool and on-site fitness area.

On picturesque Highway 179 in the Village of Oak Creek, the mid-range Bell Rock Inn has 75 rooms at affordable rates and two pools (one with views of nearby buttes). Big, clean rooms come with kitchenettes, but decor is hit or miss: some rooms have dated, 1980s-style decor, while others are contemporary. The nearby Ridge on Sedona's renovated rooms are nicer, but its views are a little less impressive.

The lower-middle-range Sedona Ridge is just off Highway 179 in the Village of Oak Creek, with 118 rooms housed in 23 tan stucco buildings on a sprawling property. The red rocks are far from the Ridge, so views of them are limited, but good views exist of the surrounding desert landscape, especially from the two heated pools. Rooms have kitchenettes, but many guests will have to drive from the lobby to reach them. Guests wanting better views at a similar price point should consider the Bell Rock Inn.